RESPONDENT INFORMATION FORM
THE BUILDING (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004, AMENDMENT CONSULTATION
ON THE INTRODUCTION OF REGULATORY CONCESSIONS FOR HUTS AND
BOTHIES:
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THE BUILDING (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004, AMENDMENT
CONSULTATION ON THE INTRODUCTION OF REGULATORY CONCESSIONS
FOR HUTS AND BOTHIES:
Consultation Questions
Consultees are encouraged to submit their views in electronic format. Please feel
free to provide your views and comments on this form.
To mark an ‘agree/disagree’ box, please double click on the relevant box and select
‘checked’.
To offer commentary on aspects of the consultation not addressed by specific
questions, please respond under question 4.
The questions are set out below following the proposed amendment to Schedule 1 of
regulation 3 of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 to include the new building
type for huts and bothies.
Background
1.
Buildings have significant implications for health, safety, the environment and
our communities. Through the appropriate application of minimum building
standards, set by regulations, the design, construction and maintenance of
Scotland’s built environment can benefit all owners, users and people in and around
our buildings.
2.
Scottish Building Regulations set standards for the health, safety and welfare
of persons in and around buildings, furthering the conservation of fuel and power and
furthering the achievement of sustainable development. These standards are
supported by guidance contained in the Technical Handbooks. The Building
Regulations apply to most new buildings and to buildings being converted, altered or
extended. Scottish Building Regulations are devolved to the Scottish Parliament,
therefore there is no alternative framework in place which deals with Scottish
Building Regulations and mandatory building standards.
3.
Reforesting Scotland (RS) launched the 1,000 Huts Campaign in May 2013.
The campaign focused on increasing the accessibility to huts by making them more
affordable to all. RS approached Scottish Ministers to ask for their support to formally
recognise huts within the regulatory system, specifically planning and building
standards. Scottish Ministers are supportive of the proposals to give concessions in
the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 for not only huts but bothies too.
Proposal
4.
The proposal will introduce a new building type for huts and bothies which will
with some exceptions, exempt them from the building regulations. The exemption will
require that huts and bothies be constructed to meet key health and safety aspects
for public safety.
The building type will not require huts and bothies to meet the building regulations in
full, as they currently do, and a building warrant will not be required from the local
authority. This should make huts and bothies more affordable to build. Therefore
greater numbers may to be built allowing more people the opportunity to use them.
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5.
The proposed new building type will include safeguards for compliance with
design and construction performances relating to specific health and safety issues
such as structure, fire safety and fire spread between buildings, combustion
appliances and wastewater disposal systems.
Huts and bothies in terms of the exemption are intended to be referred to as
recreational buildings that are used for a relevant activity and sited in a remote or
rural location (i.e. not urban or suburban), and will not be classed as a dwelling or a
building ancillary to a dwelling. This proposed exemption will limit huts and bothies to
being single storey detached buildings with a floor area no greater than 30 m2.
6.
These proposals will be supported by a good practice guide (GPG) developed
by Reforesting Scotland in conjunction with Scottish Government and the Forestry
Commission. The GPG will provide good practice for the design and construction of
huts and bothies.
7.
To achieve this, the proposed amendment to the Building (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 will add the new building type to schedule 1 to regulation 3 which
sets out what building types and what work are exempt from the building regulations.
The details of the proposed new building type are included below.
Huts and Bothies - Proposed new building type
Recreational
buildings
Type
Description
12 A
A detached single storey residential
building comprising a hut or bothy used for
shelter or sleeping accommodation in
connection with a relevant activity that is
designed and constructed in such a way
that –
(a) the loadings that act on it, taking
account of the nature of the ground, will
not lead to(i) the collapse of the whole or part
of the building;
(ii) deformations which would make
the building unfit for its intended
use; unsafe or cause damage to
other parts of the building or to
fittings or to installed equipment; or
(iii) impairment of the stability of any
part of another building;
(b) any fixed combustion appliance
installation operates safely and any
component part (i) used for the removal of
combustion gases will withstand
heat generated as a result of its
operation without any structural
change that would impair the
stability or performance of the
Exception
 A dwelling
 A building exceeding
30 square metres in
area
 A building ancillary to
another building
 A building within 6
metres of a boundary
 A building within 6
metres of another
building
 Any wastewater
disposal system
serving a building of
this type
 A hut or bothy
containing a raised
floor or platform which
is open to the room or
space into which it
projects
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installation;
(ii) will not cause damage to the
building in which it is installed by
radiated, convected or conducted
heat or from hot embers expelled
from the appliance;
(c) the products of combustion from any
fixed combustion appliance are carried
safely to the external air without harm to
the health of any person through leakage,
spillage, or exhaust nor permit the re-entry
of dangerous gases from the combustion
process of fuels into the building;
(d) any fixed combustion appliance
installation receives air—
(i) for combustion and operation of the
chimney so that the health of persons
within the building is not threatened by
the build-up of dangerous gases as a
result of incomplete combustion; and
(ii) for cooling so that the fixed
combustion appliance installation will
operate safely without threatening the
health and safety of persons within the
building.
“relevant activity” means mountaineering,
climbing, hillwalking, rambling or other
similar activity
Questions
Question 1
The proposed amendment of schedule 1 to regulation 3 of the Building (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 will introduce a new building type for huts and bothies. This would
allow particular huts and bothies to be built without a building warrant and also be
exempt from the building regulations.
Question 1: Do you agree or disagree with the proposed approach to exempt
single storey detached huts and bothies up to 30 m2 in area in the Building
(Scotland) Regulations 2004? (This is by including them as a new building
type in schedule 1 of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 as amended.)
Please tick as appropriate
Agree
Disagree
If you disagree please provide details of your concerns.
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Question 2
To exempt huts and bothies from the building regulations the proposals include
legislative safeguards to maintain the key public safety aspects such as building
structure; fire safety and fire spread between buildings; combustion appliances; and
wastewater disposal system.
Question 2: Do you agree that, for the purposes of public safety, huts and
bothies should meet the key legislative safeguards for their construction
(structure; fire safety and fire spread between buildings; combustion
appliance installations; and wastewater disposal system)?
If you disagree please provide details of your concerns.
Question 3
Question 3: Should any other key legislative safeguards for the construction
of huts and bothies be covered?
If so, please provide specific details and reasoning.
Question 4
Question 4: Do you have any other comments?
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